Out Of Hibernation: The Segment Formerly Known As Bears Buzz

Sometime Sunday afternoon, I came up with a more clever name for the blog responsible for the Chicago Bears round-up segment.  Though it lacks the alliteration of Bears Buzz, it is name that seems to fit Bears rewind blogs -- especially after yesterday's game against the Cleveland Browns.

The Day of Reckoning

Here we go.

Unless you have been living under a rock the last week, you know that the Green Bay Packers will be facing the quarterback that accomplished so much during his 16 year career in Wisconsin. That quarterback will be wearing purple and yellow on Monday night instead of the familiar green and gold that football fans have been accustomed to seeing for years.

Growing up, Michael Jordan and Brett Favre were my idols. I became a Packers fan in large part due to number four. But Favre’s ‘will he or won’t he’ antics have not just began over the last two years. Packer fans know the drama that Favre creates in the offseason as his rumored retirement began all the way back in the 2002 offseason.

Let it be known that I was one of the fans that wanted the organization to appease Favre during the training camp fiasco last year. Even though the Packers finished 6-10 last year, Aaron Rodgers established himself as a premier quarterback in the NFL and he was the much better quarterback between him and Favre. Green Bay’s GM, Ted Thompson, took a lot of flack for his decision to stick with Rodgers but he’s looked like a genius. Favre had a messy divorce with the Jets at the end of last year and as we all know, he decided to come back to the Minnesota Vikings after a desperate effort by head coach Brad Childress.

The legend of Favre continued to grow after last week’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. Favre threw a 32 yard game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Lewis with two seconds left to give the Vikings a stunning 27-24 win over the Niners. The Vikings moved to 3-0 on the season ahead of the big tilt against the Packers.

One thing that the Vikings need to stray away from in this game is the overuse of Favre and the under utilization of Adrian Peterson. Last week against San Francisco, Favre threw the ball 46 times while the best player in the NFL only received 19 carries. In the first two games of the season against Cleveland and Detroit, Favre threw the ball 21 and 27 times respectively. Peterson had 25 carries against the Browns and only 15 against the Lions. If Childress continues to let Favre air it out against better teams, he will not be as fortunate as he was against the 49ers.

The Packers would be wise if they stacked the box with eight defenders and as weird as it sounds, they would be better off letting Brett Favre beat them compared to Adrian Peterson. Peterson has destroyed the Packers in his short career – like many teams in the league. In his four games against the Packers, Peterson has ran for over 100 yards three times with the lone exemption coming in 2007 when Al Harris injured Peterson’s knee on a tackle early on in the game. Last year at the Metrodome, Peterson ran for 192 yards on 30 carries against the Packers. There is no question that if Green Bay wants to win this game, they have to contain the best player in the game at all costs.

For the Packers, they come into this contest at a mark of 2-1 and they were able to down the St. Louis Rams with relative ease last week. Aaron Rodgers threw for a pair of touchdowns and also ran for one as the Packers won 36-17. The big concern for the Packers is how their offensive line stacks up against the Vikings All-Pro defensive line, which boasts Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, and Pat Williams. It’s not a good sign for the Pack when they can boast about ‘only’ giving up two sacks last week. Rodgers has been sacked 12 times in three weeks, which is the most in the NFL. Starting right tackle Allen Barbre has been horrid this season as he has allowed Adewale Ogunleye, Antwan Odom, and Leonard Little to run rampant on Rodgers. Look for Jared Allen to be in the backfield early and often for Minnesota.

This is obviously a very important game for both teams, but there is more pressure on the home team to win home division games. If the Packers can somehow steal this game from Minnesota, they will be in the driver’s seat in the NFC North at 3-1 heading into their bye week. And after the bye week, the Packers face the likes of Detroit, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay with the Lambeau Field rematch against Minnesota sandwiched in there.

It pains me to say it, but Minnesota is the favorite and should win this game because the Packers weaknesses play to the Vikings strengths. If there is a given, the game should be competitive as the last six contests at the Metrodome have been decided by seven or less points. The circus will be in Minneapolis on Monday night, but just remember that there will be a game in the middle of all the nonsense at around 7:30 tonight.

Adrian Peterson Reminds Cleveland It Is The City Of Failure

The mistakes and failures of Cleveland's sports franchises are plentiful. 

Michael Jordan and John Elway started their respective Hall of Fame careers by breaking the hearts of every basketball and football fan in the city.  Whatever fandom survived those crushing blows eventually got theirs when Jose Mesa took the mound in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. 

Whoever survived that massacre might have to pony up all the strength left in their soul and save it for July 2010 when LeBron James bolts for greener pastures.

The Browns began what will be another disappointing season with a blowout loss at the hands of Brett Favre Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings.  And to think, this all could have been avoided had the Browns drafted Peterson instead of offensive lineman Joe Thomas.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer got a hold of a former Browns staffer who explains everything:

"In my mind, it was a no-brainer,'' the personnel man said. "Adrian Peterson was the best running back in high school football, the best running back in college football and now he's the best running back in the NFL. He was Rookie of the Year and led the NFL in rushing last season. We had a chance to draft the best player in the NFL outside of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and we blew it.''

Brady Quinn struggled against the Vikes, but do you think his troubles could have been eased with football's best running back lined up behind him.  Heck, Peterson's presence could be enough to inspire Braylon Edwards to catch some passes.  And had the Browns not dealt tight end Kellen Winslow, they would have the makings of a formidable offense.

Instead, Cleveland's football franchise is well on its way to securing another top-5 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Speaking of 2010, there's a certain Ohio native that happens to be a free agent that could save the franchise.

Tavaris Jackson fantasy hero? Say what?

Photo Credit: Getty Images

The Minnesota Vikings deserve to win the NFC North if Tavaris Jackson can lead the Vikings offense to 35 points behind four touchdown throws.

But don't be making room for his Hall of Fame plaque (or yellow jacket) just yet. This is the same Tavaris Jackson that was benched in favor of Gus Frerotte. And before you give me the whole "look at his last six quarters" argument, sit down and shut up.

Go to espn.com or any sports/news website and take a look at the last two teams the Vikes have lined up against. Careful research shows that Minnesota has taken on the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals.

Sure, the Cardinals are NFC West champs and are going to the playoffs for the first time since Jake Plummer miraculously sent one of the NFL's laughing stock franchises postseason bound back in the days when the U.S. President was more concerned about late night fun in the Oval Office than shoes flying at him. But their defense still sucks.

As for the Lions, they're 0-and-14 and have allowed offenses score as if they were the Washington Generals and their opponents were the Harlem Globetrotters.

And I know that Jackson has looked confident in his last two outings ... but remember ... Lions and Cardinals. It's not as if he was going up against Mike Singletary's '85 Chicago Bears or Ray Lewis' Baltimore Ravens championship team.

Heck, I would be confident if I lined up behind All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson with super-duper star Adrian Peterson as my deep back, Bernard Berrian as my deep threat and Vinsanthe Schiancoe as my wing man at the bar.

Especially if I was going up against the Lions and Cards.

Is it time for a Booty call in Minnesota?

The Minnesota Vikings are 0-2 with arguably the most exciting running back not named LT running around, through and past defenders.

Yet the passing game isn't passing at all. In fact it's failing.

So whenever a relationship gets rocky, isn't a Booty call in order?

That's what Vikings fans have to be thinking: John David Booty is the answer.

The former University of Southern California star is waiting in the wings for head coach Brad Childress to topple the Tavaris Jackson regime and insert the former Trojan.

Booty can't do worse than Jackson, who is single handedly ruining the Vikings playoff chances every time he drops back to pass. And that's the killer thing right there.

The fact that the AP Express continues to roll even though everybody in the United States of America knows that No. 28 is going to get the ball is astonishing.

And don't even throw out the idea of Gus Frerotte starting for the Vikes. I'm sure Minnesota football fans would rather see a triumverate of furry ferrets taking snaps than Gus the Bust.

So it's time to give Booty a chance.

It's not like he was terrible at USC. He was a Heismen Trophy candidate before getting hurt. His 518 career completitions and 6,125 passing yards rank fifth in school history. Did I mention he went to USC - which has produced quality college arms such as Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart.

I guess you can start penciling New England Patriots back-up Matt Cassel and current USC starter Mark Sanchez for future reference too, while you're at it.

The point is, at 0-2, the Vikings chances of making the playoffs are slim - and that's only because their quarterback is anemic at best.

There's no time like the present to start experimenting ... or hitting the free agent market.

How do Nick Hill and Daunte Culpepper not have jobs?

Somehow Tarvaris Jackson still has a starting job in the NFL.

I find it difficult to fathom that he is better than a former Minnesota Vikings guy like Daunte Culpepper after a pathetic showing that saw Jackson complete 16 of 35 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown in a 24-19 loss that was capped with a Rex Grossman-esque interception.

Sure his numbers weren't dreadful, or Grossman like. But the numbers don't lie otherwise. A completion percentage well below 50 percent is bad enough but this guy has more weapons than most teams in the NFL. He's got Sidney Rice and Bernard Berrian as well as some guy named Adrian Peterson.

All that and career QB rating of just-around 70 percent.

How does this guy still have a job?

How does Purple Jesus only get 19 carries in this game when he still had 100-plus yards?

It's frustrating to watch a team loaded with talent on both sides of the ball struggle like this. I'm sure it's worse for Vikings fans that will certainly be calling for...Gus Frerotte?

Yikes, talk about no plan B.

If I'm a Vikes fan I'd rather see John David Booty give it a whirl. He could be the next Carson Palmer for all we know...

Or he could be the next Matt Leinart.

After another week of this, it may be worth the risk to find out. Besides... he is the son of a preacher man after all.

But he's also the brother of this winner. Somehow, Josh Booty isn't exactly akin to one of the Manning Bros.